I’ve just
arrived back in Singapore. You could say I should have a great feeling of relief
of being back in civilisation, after week in what is to all intents and purposes
a third-world country. That feeling should have been overwhelmingly strong as
it took me around two hours to reach the boarding gate at Noi Bai International
in Hanoi and entering Singapore a breeze (after filling out the SG Arrival card,
entry into the country is happily automated) in comparison to what I had been
through on the Vietnamese side.
There were
wonderful signs of being “home.” The most obvious was water fountains at the
airport. I was no longer dependent on bottled water to quench my thirst and of
course, everything was a language I could communicate in.
However, I didn’t
feel an overwhelming sense of joy to be back home. In fact, what I felt was an
overwhelming sense of despair and I had to fight back the feeling of wanting to
start sobbing on the spot. You see, the reason is simple, I had gone from a cranky
airport in what is still a communist country that a sense of dynamism to a
glamorous façade that seems to be hiding something that is not quite right.
Let’s make no
mistake here. There is no comparison in terms of the facilities between Noi Bai
International and Changi Airport. Nobody goes to Noi Bai to anything other than
to get into and off planes. Changi on the other hand is a destination in its
own right.
However, if you
look at things through the lenses of the food scene, the difference is quite
startling. I found the only two Burger King outlets between Hai Phong and Hanoi
inside Noi Bai International. As mentioned in a previous posting, Burger King
and its cousin, MacDonald’s couldn’t conquer the Vietnamese market. People were
attached to their Pho and Ban Mi served along the roadside. It came faster,
tastier and healthier than what the international chains could provide and
seeing the world’s second largest joint stuck at the airport gives you a sense of
satisfaction of watching a bully get humiliated by a guy half his size.
Changi was sadly different. It's a beautiful looking place but unfortunately, it seems to a beautiful shell hiding a sick interior.
First thing you that you notice is that the cleaners are inevitably old. I guess it didn’t really affect me during the years of the pandemic but then, when you step out of Singapore and back again, you notice it. Then, you ask yourself if that’s your fate. I mean, we have a spanking new, state-of-the-art airport, which is the envy of the world and yet the people who are doing the hard work to keep this wonderful place ticking over, are the people who should be enjoying what it has to offer.
I do get that
some old people like to keep working because it helps keep them active and the
pennies they earn help them out in old age. At 48, I’ve encountered my fair
share of ageism and I do make a point that those of us over 45 are employable
too. However, when every cleaner you run into happens to be over 65, it’s got
to send signals out you that something is very wrong here. You have to ask –
who exactly are we building these great facilities for?
Then, I wanted
to get a meal and so I thought I would stop by the food court in Terminal 4,
which for the record is the newest and swankiest part of the world’s best
airport. When I left for Vietnam a week ago, this was the sight I was treated
to – everything down to the toilet was magnificent.
However, we’re
not talking about a toxic dump. We’re talking about the world’s best airport and
we make so much noise about how “food” as embodied by our food stalls are an existential
part of who we are. Its what we want to show to the world in the place where
the world gathers. It makes no sense to me that food stalls are being shut in
this place.
The airport
will always have business. There are always people in the airport. If rents are
high, its because this is “hot” location. It’s the type of place where the you’d
expect lots of people fighting to take the slots that are there.
When you see
these empty stalls in the airport food court, you can’t help but feel something
is wrong. It’s like being in a shinny shell that sicks on the inside and what
feeling is enough to make you want to sob on end due to the despair of what you’ve
walked into. That’s not what you should feel when you step into what has been consistently
the world’s best airport in the world’s shiniest nation.
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